Cars - For Car Enthusiasts

My first car, a 1976 Chevy Malibu, that I inherited from my Grandparents. It looked awful. Was amazingly underpowered. Handled poorly. But my biggest complaint was the butterfly valve on the carburetor. When the temperature got "cold" the valve did not contract as much as the housing around it. Consequently, the valve would stick causing a bad air-fuel ratio that would make the engine stall. I put cold in quotes above because I lived in Houston at the time and the weather is never actually cold. GM took 700 lbs of weight out of the Malibu in the two following years without making the car any smaller. The huge V8 engine only developed a nominal 160 HP (or something like that) and only managed 12mpg. The plastic pieces on the interior cracked and flaked off.

Modern cars are so much nicer and more reliable. I almost feel grateful for that heap because it helps me appreciate the improvements we have achieved.

Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder. Something major broke every single month. I didn't even drive it the last 6 months I owned it, because I was terrified of yet another major thing breaking.

I don't beleive my worst car is anywhere near as bad as some terrible cars I've driven/borrowed/rented. Background: I've been driving since 2008 and have owned 7 vehicles with 4 wheels between my y wife and I. And it is a diverse range of slow, small, unequipped, unreliable, and unattractive. But almost everything was bought for the purposes they exceed at so I don't complain about informed decisions.

The only car I didn't really choose was my first car, a 98 Taurus inherited from grandparents. I could call it the most boring, or the most mediocre when weighing all metrics, but not the worst I've used for at least an hour. I had it for 10 years before rust made it too risky for a long commute. The cheap leather seats were durable enough, the power was enough (faster duratec), the interior was roomy enough for 4, the trunk as normal, and the wind noise was low (slippery dickens aero design). The appearance was a distinct product of its time, out of place by time I owned it - they went TOO round. Parts supply wasn't great on some key critical areas that did change over the years, such as coolant and transmission tubes. I could handle it now, but it's long gone.

The one that would resemble OP's situation remains my favorite, a Lincoln LS. Knowledge is what makes this one tolerable when it fails (by recognizing symptoms before catastrophic failure) and keep the memories net-positive. The handling is superb, as Ford/JLR sought to directly compete with BMW with this car and the Jaguar S-type (same chassis). Power was good for 2000 but didn't inflate to stay good by 2006, but the good noises offset the actual performance for me. But these things are notorious for misfires (which get misdiagnosed), overheating (which gets misdiagnosed), transmission issues (which get them replaced when they can be maintained better and fixed easier), need more frequent suspension rebuilds like a real BMW, and have a slew of unique parts because this is closer to a Jaguar than a Town Car. But every time I drive it, there's just something special about it.

A short version of what many consider terrible is a Geo Tracker and a 4cyl 90s Ranger. People call the Ranger way too slow. I'll tell you what's slow, a Geo Tracker. The Tracker works just fine, you just have to crank it out on on-ramps and hope no one jams your flow by merging at 20 under. But it's tiny size (smaller footprint than a Miata) is a treat to maneuver, the 4x4 is realer than a common modern suv, the convertible top masks the mediocrity with summer thrills, and the heater is one of the strongest I've ever owned for the "cold winters in a soft top". Meanwhile, the Ranger is a little quicker, happier to cruise on the highway, has more than enough power for a competent well-planning driver, and hauls bulky stuff the same as a bigger engine/pickup. I've had 800lbs of plywood and barely noticed a difference. I'll take the improved MPGs.

So what's the worst car I've driven for at least an hour in town, city, and highway? My dad's 2011 Hyundai Sonata. I don't know what went so wrong, but I just hated everything about it. I did my best to adapt and get comfortable, but it was just a terrible experience. It exceled at mediocrity. The interior materials were 20 shades of hard gray, the displays were uninformative, the doors closed with the sound of a door 30 years older, the buttons were unfriendly, the visibility was lacking, the front is hideous, the headlights are atrocious, it eats tail light bulbs, the arm rests are all wrong for me, the dash buttons and indicators all used deep blue LEDs for illumination which is atrocious to see at night (too much UV intrusion and blurring), and despite already being familiar with an 80hp Geo, this Sonar felt more underpowered with its vague automatic transmission and polite engine noise.

My first car, a 1997 VW Jetta, the engine exploded and caught fire on my way to work one day. Can't say any car I've had since has been as bad.

2003 Chevrolet Cavalier. For non-Americans, this car was not available outside the USA.

What worked great: The engine (Ecotec L61)

What didn't: everything else

Mid 80's Ford Bronco. My ex insisted she had to have this thing. It leaked oil, was the most anemic thing I have ever owned and got maybe 4 or 5 mpg. We had no money to begin with, and she also insisted that we spend our tax refund on a set of rims. So at some point it had rims on it worth more than the truck, in my opinion. She spent sooo much money on gas. It was by far the worst car I have ever owned.

2012 Hyundai Tucson. What an absolute piece.

Body roll like a guy on a unicycle. Suspension as smooth as a jeep, as strong as a yugo. Acceleration like a 70s VW.

The wife really liked it.

Punto sport 16s

Pro : short gear, 6 shift Cons : generic aleatory default on the assisted direction.... (electric jacks).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYXPmROLfl8

I haven't really had a "bad" car yet. My oldest car was my first, a 2003 Ford Taurus. Wearables needed to be replaced but outside of that, the only thing I can say that would make it the "worst car" is that the cruise control lever broke and got stuck while I was driving it, so essentially my throttle was stuck open while I was going about 70 MPH. I tried not to panic, and shifted into neutral (it was also an automatic) so I could shut the car off and then coast to safety.

99 Corolla was a pile of crap. I bought it at 80k on the basis of a report that it was the car that has the fewest MOT failures on record. The doors clanged when I shut them, it felt gutless and cheap generally. I could live with that but the water leak into the passenger footwell had to be eliminated. Spent months searching for the ingress point, finally tracking it down to a poorly sealed door hinge. Around this time I was alarmed by the unusually high oil consumption, it required topping up between services. I asked Toyota and they said it's normal to consume a litre of oil per 1000km 🤣 Needless to say, the engine expired a short time later with failed piston rings on cylinder 3 at 100k.

~~2nd~~ 1st Gen Durango.

Every electrical accessory died. The window motors, the instrument cluster, the radio, etc. The drivetrain was solid, but the water pump failed 3 times while I had it. It wasn't even an abnormal example, they all were like that.

I will never buy a Dodge again because they have gotten worse; newer dodges are blowing engines and transmissions at low miles.

2013 Mini Cooper S

Spent more time in the shop than on the road. Traded-in that POS before the warranty ran out.

Fiat panda, it is literally a cardboard box with wheels.

i owned a very abused 09 civic si sedan.

it was obviously in a front end collision on the driver's side that was covered up by the previous owner. i know this because the headlight mounts on that side were busted and that light pointed way up into the sky. it also darted all over the road because the front wheels were pointed towards eachother. it was so bad that it wore through the rubber down to the metal belts so i had sharp wires sticking out of tires and i cut myself taking the wheels off:(

it had trouble starting because the starter motor was barely holding on by 1/3 bolts and it was for a different model civic. when i got it home i wiggled the starter motor and a bolt fell out.

the clutch master failed while i was on a road trip. i heard a loud ping like a bolt snapped and was bouncing around my engine bay then the clutch pedal went to the floor and i couldn't put it in gear.

everything the previous owner said he fixed on the car failed within a year of me owning the car because he did a lousy job and bought the cheapest no-name parts.

oh and the rear sway bar was fully disconnected and doing nothing.

An early 2000s Jetta my fiancee bought shortly before we got married. The electronic sensors kept dying throughout the warranty and after and were expensive as hell to replace, a pain in the ass to install becsuse I had to take off 6 parts to get to them, and it had horrendous handling in snowy/icy weather. Got rid of that lemon a year after we were married and replaced it with a 2005 Camry that was super reliable and cheap to maintain for the next 18 years.

The Canrywas still going strong when I traded it in for a truck due to changing needs. Literal opposite of that stupid Jetta.

My first ever car was a 1997 Saturn S. And I don't think it was a bad car overall, but when I bought it, the thing was very old and had been driven by an old lady who smoked in the car. It was all I could afford at the time, and the price was right for obvious reasons. So we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and the smell never quite fully came out. We did a pretty good job, but on hot summer days you could still smell it. It also needed quite a bit of work that we ended up doing and it ended up being the first car I ever rebuilt the engine on.

As for worst car I've ever had the pleasure to drive, for a while I was borrowing my mother in law's Ford Flex. It didn't have any issues but it really was the worst car to drive. It had absolutely no turning radius. The seats were very large for no reason and were very uncomfortable. The visibility out of the front windshield was trash at night and made me think I was having vision issues. There were so many sounds for everything that you couldn't discern which sound was for which thing and this made them all useless. The accelerator was so unresponsive, I had to program my brain to floor it ahead of when I needed to speed up so the timing would be right. The infotainment system was complete trash, but really all of them were back then. Loads of other small annoyances that I could go on and on about, but I'll finish with how the car also just looks awful and I was always embarrassed to drive it. I hope I never have to drive one again.

2000 Chevy Blazer, first car and at least one thing was usually broke on it (usually the ac, but occasionally something else would break until I/my dad could fix it). 2nd gear broke at 230k, and didn't want to put more money into fixing it.

My first car was a rusty 72 Pinto. Objectively bad, but there's a freedom associated with a total shitbox as a 16yo that I've never had since.

Later had a mid-80s Cutlass Ciera. It already had an engine replaced by the time I got it, and that engine ran fine, unlike literally anything else in/on that car.

Briefly had a 77 F250. Also on a replacement engine, but this motor didn't last long. That beast only got like 9 MPG, so it wasn't worth fixing.

The 99 Jetta was fine for a few years, but when things started breaking, they broke in bunches. Finally a mechanic told me there was nothing he could do, so I had to scrap it.

I’ve had a few including a 1986 galant that needed a new transmission three times in the two years that I owned it (luckily all were replaced under warranty) and a 1991 Toyota Camry that I bought for $500 and it died a month later. I can’t fault either of those much though because they were each way over ten years old when I got them. The one that takes the cake is a 2003 mazdaspeed protege which I bought new and it shot a piston through the block 2.5 years after I bought it. Since I was over the mileage on the warranty at that point, Mazda didn’t honor it. The car had a handful of other issues during the time I owned it too. I won’t buy another Mazda.

I've only had two but the first one, 2001 Audi A6 was significantly more expensive to maintain than my current Nissan pickup.